For many years the shoulder strap designed for larger weapons such as large frame revolvers or automatics have traditionally involved a holster body with a pair of upwardly extending portions, one integral with or stitched to the front of the holster and the other with the rear of the holster. These support portions extend angularly such that one will extend partially around the chest of the wearer, and the other extends partially around his back. The over the shoulder support strap extends downward in overlying or relationship to its ends with the support portions of the holster. The two have typically been held together by lacing similar to a conventional shoelace, through mating holes, or in certain cases, both the shoulder strap and the support portion of the holster have included matching transverse slots, spaced, for example, one inch apart. The shoulder strap and the holster in such case are joined together by a flat leather strap which is interwoven through the matching slots in the two parts. This has provided at least three thicknesses of leather throughout the adjustment region which fall directly over the breast pocket of the wearer, or over the shoulder blade at the rear. Because of the interleaving woven strap, which assumes a direction while passing through the aligned slots of approximately normal to the surface of the strap and shoulder extension, the thickness of the mating region between the shoulder strap and the holster support is at least four thicknesses of leather. This sometimes results in a visible bulge, which is highly undesirable.
Moreover, the laced and the interwoven strap arrangement of the prior art is adjustable only in increments of one inch, or whatever the selected space between the slots, as made by the manufacturer. It is therefore impossible to achieve continuous adjustment to exactly fit a wearer, and additionally it is impossible to make any adjustments in the fit while being worn. The holster must be removed, unlaced, adjusted to a new incremental position, relaced, and then replaced.
Although holsters of the type just described have been around for many years, no one has recognized the two serious deficiencies, and the detectives have become accustomed to expecting the unwanted bulges, and the limited and time consuming adjustability.